Ahhhh...Sweet Sanity!

Today day was clear and sunny, the temps were flirting with the high 30’s, and we’d had a fair amount of rain over the past week. The roadways were fairly clear of salt and I’d kicked around the idea of taking the bike out for a quick spin to work the fluids through the lines. I was leaning towards scrapping that plan but hadn’t fully ruled it out - just kinda keeping it in the back of my mind, to be dragged back up if need be.

It was mid-afternoon today and I had some time to kill. Realizing that I hadn’t talked to Flex in a while, I figured I’d give him a call and see what he was up to. Turns out he was up for meeting for a beer (I like that about him). He suggested a biker-friendly bar that’s around the corner from his house and we agreed to meet there.

Hmmm…a biker-friendly bar. And me, with this plan in the back of my mind. Coincidence? Oh, I think not. Besides, the weather was calling for more snow tonight (they were right; it's coming down right now). If I was going to get a final ride in before the end of the year, it had to be right now.

Excitement rushed through me as I rolled her out into the driveway and flicked the switches into ‘run’ mode. Once the diagnostics were completed, I was good to go. Choke; full-out. Throttle; two quick twists. Starter button; pressed. She turned for me a few times but didn’t catch. I twisted another quick gulp of petrol down the carb’s throat, and she fired right up. Locking the throttle on a medium idle, I ran back inside and started digging all my cold weather gear out. Donning everything, I was back outside and easing the idle down to a steady rumble. Settling into the saddle, I kicked things down into first and eased out onto the road.

There was still plenty of sand out there, so the cornering was civil and polite. No scraping today! I made my way down to the corner gas station and filled the tank - she took 3 gallons of fresh new gas, complete with the traces of stabilizer that all new gas comes with. I should be in good shape for the rest of the winter, now.

Heading back out onto the roadways, I wound my way up some main roads, down some side streets, and wound around some assorted lefts and rights. Man, did it ever feel great to be riding again! I knew that today’s mileage was going to be minimal, but just to be astride the machine again…to feel the pulse of the engine as it rumbled through my body, to feel the bite of the air as it washed over any exposed skin, to sense the pull of the lean as I eased through the corners. It’s just the best feeling in the world. I tend to get a bit depressed in the wintertime when I can’t ride (so why the hell do I live in New England then?) and these brief jaunts do wonders for my mental clarity when I’m able to enjoy them.

All too soon, I arrived at the parking lot of the aforementioned bar; The Anvil (a cool name for a biker bar, no?). And not surprisingly, there was another bike already there. I was happy to see this as my bike would have some company while I shared a few libations with Flex, inside. (Ok, so we didn’t exactly share the libations, but we did each enjoy our own.)

Being the end of December, the sunshine soon departed, ushering in the darkness of nighttime. We finished our beers and I strolled out to my now-lonely bike (the other rider had left for home a while earlier). I warmed her up again and headed off to home. Ahhh…a much too-short trip, but enjoyable as all hell, just the same.

What else is going on…let’s see. Oh; I’d talked about buying some real cheap vodka and running it through a Brita filter to see if it cleaned things up and turned it into a top-shelf drink. I did some looking on-line and found there have been tons of people who have already done this (no one’s ever accused me of being the first to arrive at the dance, so to speak). The overwhelming opinions of those that have tried this experiment is that while it does smooth things out a bit, there’s no magical transformation. The vodka might wind up tasting a bit better, but it’s really not worth the expense and trouble. And since I’m not much of a vodka drinker, I didn’t see the need to repeat what others have already accomplished. So that idea was scrapped.

The only other thing on the plate is tomorrow night’s New Year’s celebration. I’m heading to Ed & Sue’s house for their annual NYE party. Should be a good time - they always welcome you in with warm smiles and a warm house. Food will be plenty, fun will be had, and frothy beers will be shared with friends. Try and tell me that it gets better than that. It doesn't.

So this will probably be the last post of 2007. I hope that everyone has a safe and fun New Year’s and that 2008 will bring health, happiness and prosperity to you all.

Ride Hard, Take Chances